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HighRollers: Lightfall/Episode 19
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" is the nineteenth episode of the Lightfall campaign for High Rollers D&D. It was broadcast live on the Yogscast Twitch channel on July 3, 2016. In this episode, our heroes begin their quest to recover a powerful scroll and find the magical mask for Trellimar's patron. It begins with a vision of the past before they journey deep beneath the Surface and discover an ancient temple to a powerful and forgotten deity. Campaign Summary A Rest Before the Next Adventure After destroying the portal to the Shadowfell, the adventurers and Sir Jonathan return to the crypt, deep underneath the district of Whisper's Walk. Elora is still reeling from the side effects of despair and hopelessness from the Shadowfell and Jonathan is badly injured. The group climb back up to the surface as the rain starts to dissipate. Sister Superior Annabelle, upon receiving the group's message via Granamyr, walks to the group, along with the remaining members of the Mournravens and the Order of the Burning Lanterns. She asks them if the source disturbing the undead has been destroyed, after witnessing the undead collapsing to the ground during the battle on the surface earlier. Cam confirms with her query that the source has been destroyed, then kneels on the ground and performs Prayer of Healing. Trellimar adds on by describing the events that have taken place in the Shadowfell. Annabelle, shocked by the existence of the Shadowfell, looks over at Jonathan and apologises for her rash decision earlier, as she initially plans to activate a device that she thought could have wiped out the undead. Now she knows that her plan would not have worked against the Shadowfell, but Jonathan assures her that no one would even know the existence of the Shadowfell in the first place. Cam completes his ritual, healing his companions, as well as Annabelle and Jonathan. Jonathan, leaning more on his uninjured leg, thanks the adventurers for their assistance, saying that even though people fear his deity, the Raven Queen, she is simply the gatekeeper taking care of the dead and spirits. He finishes by saying that they will have her as an ally. Annabelle goes to assists Jonathan so that he need not exert force on his injured leg. She also thanks the group and tells them that the Burning Lanterns will also be their ally. She also offers them to rest in one of the temples just outside the district. The adventurers accept the offer and proceed to it. Cam pretends to be injured and two guys assist him. Jiǔtóu, upon seeing Cam's trickery, rolls her eyes in disbelief. Cam sees this and tricks the clerics to tend to her eyes condition. Jiǔtóu had to assure the clerics that she is alright and Cam is just tricking them. The remaining members of the Mournravens transform into ravens and fly away. Out of Whisper's Walk, there is a strong presence of City Watch and Guilded Arms as they barricade the district. A sizeable crowd gathers around, wondering what has happened from within the district that requires tight security. Annabelle informs a member of the security that everything is under control, then leads the adventurers to a temple for them to rest. Two hours into their rest, Jonathan enters the temple and gives them some items as a token of appreciation for the assistance earlier. Cam takes the feathered cloak and, almost instantly attuned to it, he wears it right away, much to Elora's displeasure as she is the only one without any magical items. Jonathan also helps to pass Annabelle's parcel for them, which contains a Potion of Fire Breath, Scroll of Cure Wounds (3rd Level), Scroll of Clairvoyant and Scroll of Calm Emotions. Trellimar walks up to Jonathan and queries him on any sighting of a temple marked with a symbol of an eclipsed sun. Jonathan remembers seeing not a temple, but a mausoleum with the symbol and offers to lead him to it. Trellimar accepts his help and after everyone has rested, in the following bright, sunny morning, the adventurers follow Jonathan to the mausoleum. However, as Cam wakes up after having a vision that he has yet to make up for Avandra, he shouts at Avandra if his shrunk endowment is not enough. Cam then proceeds to find some bandages lying around and stuff it in his pants to make himself feel better. However, he wasn't aware that a small piece of the bandage is sticking out of his pants, to which both Elora and Trellimar take notice of it. On the other hand, Jiǔtóu did not notice anything. The group enters into Whisper's Walk, now noticing the city guards cleaning up the district, while the Mournravens ensure the dead are taken care of. After a couple of hours, they reach the mausoleum in the older part of the district. Marked around the side of the entrance are symbols of the eclipsed sun. Inside the mausoleum is a flight of stairs leading downwards. Granamyr signals Trellimar that this mausoleum is the location for the relic mask. Cam casts Aid to his companions, then asks Trellimar if there is anything secret that he has kept it away from them that he should mention now, for safety concerns. Trellimar assures him that whatever he knows are already made known to them. He also adds on that the mask they will be looking for has 9 gems on it. The Four Drows The group proceeds to enter the mausoleum, with Trellimar leading the way. As Trellimar was about to walk through the entrance, his eyes focused on the symbol of the eclipsed sun. His head starts pounding, the sound around him fades away. His vision starts to blur and then blacked out. He now feels the rain on his skin as he regains conscious. It is now night time, as he wonders how long has he been unconscious for. He was about to asks Cam, Elora and Jiǔtóu what has happened, but instead of his companions, standing before him are three drows, two females and one male. Where Elora once stood is one of the females, Zaylin, has a leather-bound whip with a crossbow at her side, and wears an armour with a regal bearing. The other female, Yylwis, where Jiǔtóu once stood, wears tradition drow garments and has a bow and quiver, and vials of drow poison. She is also keeping a lookout for anything. Where Cam once stood is a male drow, Nix, with a nervous look on his face, and a pair of daggers attached to his belt. Trellimar looks confused as his surrounding, despite still in Whisper's Walk, the building appears fresh and new. He also does not recognise the three drows. The drows just completed their mission tasked by the Figure on the Lake, with a woman now dead. Nix tells Xan that they must go since they have killed the woman, looking at Trellimar. Zaylin adds on, saying that they must return to the safe haven now. Trellimar (as Xan) looks confused and asks them who did they kill, and Nix tells him it is a noble woman. Zaylin interjects by saying that they must return to the safe haven. Nix tells Xan that he should listen to her. However, Zaylin noticed Xan is still hesitant and barks at him if he has a problem. Trellimar was about to respond about Cam's, Elora's and Jiǔtóu's whereabouts, but calls it off after Nix signals him to not speak further. The group then walks into the mausoleum, the same one that Trellimar saw earlier before he blacked out. After heading down the stairs, the group is now in a burial chamber, with a stone statue holding an orb of a sun on one of the sarcophagus and a mural behind it. The drows, apart from Xan, knows that this is the secret entrance to the safe haven. Trellimar wants to ask about the noble woman, whether she is deserving of her death. Zaylin warns him not to question the Figure. Trellimar remembers the Figure as the same one that stood on the endless seas during his previous flashbacks. He then tells her that he is not questioning him, just seeking clarification, explaining that he is still puzzled after regaining conscious. Nix tells him that assassinating people is what they do and that they should obey the command given to them. With Xan still puzzled, Zaylin once again asks him if he has a problem with the Figure. Yylwis believes that Xan might have been hit by some confusing agent that resulted in his state. Xan agrees with her and hopes that they could help to fill him in on the events prior to this. Nonetheless, Zaylin remains hesitant if Xan is still with them on their task. Yylwis then walks up to Xan and quietly, yet firmly, tells him to shut up. Xan now tells them that everything is fine and reassures them that he has no problem with the Figure. Zaylin will discuss this later and tells them to go in the safe haven now. Zaylin approaches the stone statue and places her hand on the orb, rotating it to reveal the other half of it, a black marble surface. The sarcophagus moves back to reveal the secret entrance. At the sight of the black-surfaced orb, Trellimar feels the same pounding on the head as he felt earlier. He blacks out. He now feels the warmth on his skin as his vision returns, seeing daylight. Cam, Elora, Jiǔtóu and Jonathan now stands before him, helping him onto his feet. Elora sarcastically remarks that this is a great start to their quest and helps him up. Trellimar explains to them that Cam, Elora and Jiǔtóu are replaced by three drows he has never seen before. He explains further that he did black out. Jiǔtóu then asks him if he was hit by some kind of confusing agent, to which Trellimar excitedly tells them that the female drow that replaced Jiǔtóu said the same thing. He also remarked that the drow that replaced Elora is really mean to him, causing Elora to be in disbelief. Cam tells Trellimar that Granamyr has been flying around being worried and constantly nibbling at him. Elora suspects that the mausoleum has some kind of forcefield and Cam worries that it could affect the rest as well. Trellimar also mentions that the drows killed a noble woman. Jiǔtóu points out that Elora is technically a noble woman, leading Elora to suspect that it could be a vision that she will be killed. Elora then asks Trellimar if he is going to kill her, which he frantically assures her that he will not be killing her. He then adds on that since he saw a fresher and newer mausoleum, he believes that what has happened was in the past. Cam questions Trellimar if he has vision like this before. Trellimar says that his visions are not as severe. Yet, this leads his companions to know that he did have visions that he did not tell them. Trellimar tries to cover up by stating that anyone could have visions from time to time, but the other disagrees and Elora probes him further by asking if those visions came true. Trellimar hums and haws for a bit, but tells her that his past visions did not really come true. He also goes on to explain that the vision he had just now is different, that he takes on the body of another person called Xan. He also explains of a stone figure in the mausoleum that leads to a secret entrance once the orb has been rotated. At this time, Jonathan tells them that he probably should not probe into their personal matters and that he have agendas to settle with the Mournravens. However, after hearing out Trellimar, he will try to research amongst the records kept by his late mentor on any records of a murdered noble woman. Jonathan wishes them well, transforms into a raven and flies off. Temple of Tharizdun Despite the earlier events, Trellimar leads his companions down into the mausoleum. At the bottom of the stairs is a burial chamber, a room that Trellimar saw in his vision earlier. He points out to his companions that the stone figure with the orb is the one. Jiǔtóu spins the orb around, revealing the black half of the orb. As it locks in place, the stone figure moves, revealing an angular staircase leading into darkness. With their lit torches and after Cam casts Guidance on Trellimar, the adventurers heads down the stairs. It takes the adventurers three hours to navigate a series of stone corridors and later earthen caverns. They now find themselves in a huge open cave, with sounds of falling water nearby and fresh air. At the far end, with just enough light from their torch, they see a small flight of stairs leading up to a set of double closed doors. Pillars jutting out of the wall resembles a temple structure. Above the door is a symbol of an inward spiral. Both Elora and Trellimar knows that the temple is very old, dating more than 1400 years back, even before Pelor's Light existed. The two also recognise that the symbol belongs to a very old god no one spoke of, Tharizdun, the god of Eternal Darkness. Cam prefers to call him Harris in an attempt to negate Tharizdun's dark past. Trellimar further knows that, from the whispers within the churches he grew up in, Tharizdun is a god not only feared by mortals but also by other gods, all good, neutral and evil. He is imprisoned for his deed of corrupting parts of The Abyss and he also created the Elemental Chaos. Imprisoning Tharizdun is no easy feat and requires a gang of good, neutral and evil gods to finish the tasks. However, Tharizdun has his followers, who are devoted into freeing Tharizdun for millennia. The cult also collects all kinds of arcane power they can grab hold of, including scrolls. Cam suggests returning to the surface, although Trellimar is confident that the Scroll of Greater Restoration could be amongst the numerous scrolls Tharizdun's followers have collected. Granamyr projects to Trellimar that the mask is also located inside the temple, with a caution of danger, yet encouraging him to proceed. Upon Jiǔtóu's query, Trellimar assures everyone that since the mask is related to his god, it will show favour to everyone as well. Jiǔtóu then asks if Tharizdun is his god, Trellimar wildly rejects it. The adventurers head inside the Temple of Tharizdun, opening the double doors. They see a large stone room with circular seats in the centre, surrounding a large brass sphere on a dais. At the back of the room is a large mural of darkness enveloping a sun. There are sets of doors on the north and south walls each. Just as the adventurers fully step inside the Temple, the doors behind them slam shut. The room plunges into complete darkness, all their torches does not work. A booming voice now resonates the room, saying, "I am the darkness entombed below. I am the blade that cuts down the weak. The other gods thought to contain my power, but they have merely given me time to grow it. Embrace my darkness, cut my chains, and you shall be rewarded." After the speech, light returns to their torches. The brass sphere now engulfs in darkness, completely black in colour. Trellimar quietly points out that that was Tharizdun. As Cam and Trellimar bicker who should touch it, Jiǔtóu walks forward to observe the sphere. On the dais, she spots patches of dried blood which seem to have been there for a very long time. Traps after Traps As Jiǔtóu turns around, she catches a flicker from the mural. She notifies the rest and Cam inspects it closer. He also catches a flicker and guess it might be an illusion. He then puts his arm through it and the mural fades away, revealing a short raised platform marking off the zones. Four stone benches are now visible on the raised platform. The adventurers all hoist themselves up onto the raised platform, guessing that it could lead to where the upper hierarchy operates from. Upon close inspection, Elora finds on every corner of the benches some arcane marks that activate the illusion wall on and off. Cam plays with the illusion wall, leaving it up eventually. With only one door at the end of the narrow room, Trellimar leads the way to the door. Before opening it, Trellimar inspects the door for trap and finds that the trap will be activated if opened from the other side. He then tells the rest that they should prop the door open in case of a need to retreat. Jiǔtóu props it open with her shortsword from her pack. The door leads into a narrower corridor, with several doors along it, include one opposite them. Jiǔtóu stands beside Trellimar while the rest stand behind him. He peeps into the corridor after Cam casts Guidance on him again. Trellimar sees a stone door at the end of the corridor, but on top of it is a turret contraption made of brass, crystal and metal and it can fire off arcane energy. He then warns the other about this. To search the room opposite them, Trellimar fires Eldritch Blast at the door. It is now partially damaged, but it activates its trap mechanism, radiating a line of arcane energy at Trellimar, Elora and Cam, blowing them back by several feet. After getting up, they now stand behind Jiǔtóu as Trellimar blasts it one more time, with Jiǔtóu in the ready to pull him back should the trap activates again. Trellimar smashes the door and the trap activates again. Fortunately, Jiǔtóu manages to pull him back in time, with him taking another minor hit. They also hear the turret contraption moves. Jiǔtóu throws a torch down the corridor and the turret contraption picks up the movement. It fires a blast at it, disintegrating it. Cam casts Guidance on Jiǔtóu as she tries to jam the turret contraption with her shuriken. The shuriken just strikes it before it can activate its shield, damaging it. The turret contraption picks up her movement and fires at her, injuring her a bit. Cam casts Shield of Faith on Elora. The turret contraption just manages to attack Elora in time, injuring her badly, as she casts Dispel Magic on it. The contraption is now disabled. Cam then smashes it with his dagger Nimbus. With the contraption out of service, the adventurers can freely search the rooms along the corridor, disabling the traps cast on the doors first. After searching two living quarters, they find: a pouch of 100 platinum pieces, a Potion of Gaseous Form, a Potion of Superior Healing, a robe with a symbol of an inward spiral, a silver magical key, and a ward stone. They also find a dated journal, with its last entry reads, "Our final few days are upon us. We have sealed the temple the best way we can, but they have resources we do not. They fear that we are so close! So close to releasing him, but ours shall soon be a victory! I've found a way to pass on what we have learnt. One day, a champion of Tharizdun shall destroy the light and unravel his seals! One day, our master will be free!" The adventurers now proceed to the door at the end of the corridor. Trellimar opens it with the magical key, careful not to activate its powerful trap. The door opens, revealing a stone vault with stone compartments along the sides. In the centre is a stone podium, with a black marble disk on it. On the side of the podium are carved faces of hooded figures. As Jiǔtóu and Trellimar enter the room, on the disc are five symbols shaped of star constellations that they can see. Elora recognises three of it: the Mountain, the Penitent Man, and the Sickle. Cam and Elora remain outside of the vault. Trellimar suspects that the ward stone he picked up earlier fits onto the disc. He puts it in and the symbols light up. Trellimar walks up to one of the stone compartments and lifts the cover up. However, at this moment, the doorway into the vault slams shut, trapping Jiǔtóu and himself inside the room. It is now pitch dark as the powerful gust of air coming out of the carved faces extinguish their torches. The two now hears bubbling. First Round of Battle Jiǔtóu angrily shouts at Trellimar on why would he open the compartment and hops onto the compartment at the corner of the vault. She whips out a torch and lights it up. It reveals, at the far corner, a morphic Black Sludge. Cam shouts from the other side of the door, telling them to try to take out the stone. Elora also shouts at Trellimar, asking him to try the key. Trellimar tries to open the door, but it does not budge. He then fires Eldritch Blasts at the Black Sludge. It moves over the podium and throws a blob at Trellimar, burning parts of his armour off. Second Round of Battle Jiǔtóu, seeing that the Black Sludge is moving closer, moves away and casts Burning Hands on it, boiling parts of it off. Cam just able to see Trellimar through the keyhole and casts Healing Word on him. Elora shape-shifts into a spider and starts crawling through the keyhole. Trellimar casts Hex then fires Eldritch Blasts at it. The blasts takes another chunk of it, leaving half of it left. The Black Sludge takes another hit at Trellimar, burning his armour further. Third Round of Battle Jiǔtóu casts another Burning Hands, burning the Black Sludge further. Cam casts Shield of Faith on Trellimar and yells at him to stay alive. The spider crawls through the keyhole and keeps a distance away from the Black Sludge before shape-shifting back into Elora. She then casts Moonbeam on the Black Sludge. Trellimar once again fires Eldritch Blasts at the Black Sludge, finishing it off. Elora then cancels her Moonbeam. Trellimar removes the ward stone and the door reopens. End of Battle The Library With the opened stone compartment, the adventurers find a mock eye patch with a blue sapphire stone. Trellimar then wears the eye patch. After much caution, Jiǔtóu opens the remaining compartments, finding a Doss Lute and a Wand of Magic Missile with five charges. By Cam's encouragement, Jiǔtóu strums the lute. However, as she is not attuned to it, she experiences an intense brief of psychic pain. She then gives the Wand to Elora since she is the only one without magical items. After a short rest, the adventurers walk out of the vault and down the corridor to another door. With no trap enchanted on the door, the adventurers open the door, leading into the dormitory. Apart from the altar with the black sphere, they find nothing interesting and loot items worth 36 gold pieces from the chests by the beds. Ignoring the altar, the adventurers head out of the dormitory and head to the door at the other end of the corridor. With no trap enchanted on the door, they open it and it leads them into a banquet hall, with cutlery and plates all laid out neatly, as if a meal is about to be served. At the far end of the hall is a kitchen. As they open the door, a strong stench of rotten food, well past its freshness, engulfs them. This force them to shut the door immediately. Heading out of the other door in the banquet hall, the adventurers find themselves back at the first room they see in the Temple, with the large blacken sphere. The only remaining set of doors they have yet to discover is the double doors on the north wall. With no traps enchanted on it, they open the door and step into a library. On its eastern wall is a glass display case with two pristine books inside: "Civilisations of Arrak: A Comprehensive Guide" and "Edicts of the Chained Darkness". Above it is a gargoyle of a demon's mouth. However, they do not open the case, fearing that it could activate another trap. Looking through the bookshelves are Scrolls of Dissonent Whispers and Knock Spell, which they realise could help them in the earlier encounters of the Temple. However, there is no Scroll of Greater Restoration. They also find a note in a case. It reads, "Kalus, remember that any of our new brothers and sisters who pass their trials are to be given a ward stone. The ones get trapped, will result in a messy death if they do try to go into restricted areas without one." With another door in the library, the adventurers continue exploring through that door. Featured Characters The Adventurers * Cam Buckland * Elora Galanodel * Jiutou Zhiji Jing * Trellimar Aleath ** Granamyr New Returning Notable Moments Trivia *'FLAT!:' As the adventurers are investigating the star constellations in the stone vault, Trott subtly says that the world is flat, promoting Hat Films's song FLAT! Kim does not wish to add onto Trott's claim, leading to Mark ask her how would she know that Arrak is not flat.DON'T TOUCH THAT! - HighRollers D&D: Episode 19 at 2:06:16 *'Where Do We Go:' After defeating the Black Sludge, Trott, as Cam, asks "Where do we go from here?" This leads to both Mark and Matt singing two different interpretations of the phrase: Mark is singing the breakdown of the song "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses; Matt is singing a line from "Where Do We Go from Here?" from the episode "Once More, with Feeling (6x07)" of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.DON'T TOUCH THAT! - HighRollers D&D: Episode 19 at 2:00:42 References Category:High Rollers D&D